Synonyms

Trillium govanianum Wall. ex Royle: Trillidium govanianum (Wall. ex Royle) Kunth

Local Names

Trillium govanianum: Hindi: Nag chhatri, Satva, Teen patra; Nepali: Nakali satuwa, Nag chhatri; Pashto: Matar Jarri; Matar zela; Urdu: Dood bachha; English: Himalayan trillium, birthroot

Botany and Ecology

Trillium govanianum: Rhizome 1–2 cm thick. Stem up to 30 cm tall. Adventitious roots numerous, fibrous. Leaves 3, petiole 0.3–1.6 cm long; lamina oval to ovate or cordate, 3.5–10.8 × 1.8–10.2 cm, acute to acuminate, glabrous, venation reticulate. Flower 1, terminal, pedicellate; pedicel 0.9–2.3 cm long, stout. Perianth segments dark purple, narrowly lanceolate, outer segments 2–4 mm broad, inner narrower; perianth spreading in flower, reflexed in the fruiting stage. Stamens 6, in 2 whorls, shorter than the perianth; filaments c. 4 mm long; anthers basifixed, 4–5 mm long, curved, dehiscence longitudinal. Ovary superior, 3-locular; styles 3, purple, linear. Fruit a red, globose berry, 1–2 cm in diameter; seeds numerous, oblong, c. 2.5 mm long, with a pulpy lateral appendage. Flowering April–August. Temperate Himalayas in India and Pakistan in humid forest from 2400 to 3200 m elevation. A fairly common plant in the hills during spring and summer months (Ali and Qaiser 1995–2020). Trillium species prefer cold, shaded, and moist climate (Case and Case 1997; Ohara et al. 2006). T. govanianum is reported under the canopies of mix temperate (Quercus spp., Abies pindrow, Juglans regia, Cedrus deodara, Picea smithiana, Betula utilis, Rhododendron spp., Juniperus indica, Salix spp.), and subalpine forests (Rhododendron spp.) with thick humus and slowly decomposing litter. Due to the specific habitat requirement, the species has patchy distribution and limited to specific pockets in the Himalayas (Figs. 1, 2, and 3).

Fig. 1
figure 1

Trillium govanianum (Melanthiaceae), flower, Pakistan. (Photo HA Jan)

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Fig. 2
figure 2

Trillium govanianum (Melanthiaceae), roots collected for sale, Pakistan. (Photo HA Jan)

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Fig. 3
figure 3

Trillium govanianum (Melanthiaceae), Mankial Valley, Swat, Pakistan. (Photo I Ur-Rahman & H. Sher)

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Phytochemistry

Govanoside, saponins, borassoside, pennogenins, tannic acid, resins, and starch (Rahman et al. 2015a, b; Chauhan 1999).

Local Medicinal Uses

Trillium govanianum: The methanolic extract of the roots and its solid-phase extraction fractions are cytotoxic against four human carcinoma cell lines: breast (MCF7), liver (HEPG2), lung (A549), and urinary bladder (EJ138), with the IC50 values ranging between 5 and 16 μg/mL (Khan et al. 2016). Govanoside A and borassoside E compounds exhibited good to moderate activities against Aspergillus niger ATCC 16888, Aspergillus flavus ATCC 9643, Candida albicans ATCC 18804, and Candida glabrata ATCC 90030 (Rahman et al. 2015a, b). The species is one of the most sought-after medicinal species of the western Himalayan region (Uniyal and Datta 2012). The plant is recently explored and got a high sell value for its folkloric use (Sher et al. 2014). Roots contain Trillarin, which on hydrolysis yields 2.5% diosgenin – a corticosteroid hormone which is used in various preparations like sex hormones, cortisone and allied preparation in rheumatism, and regulation of menstrual flow (Sharma et al. 2018). In spite of this, it is also used in stomach-related problems. In traditional medicines, rhizomes of this plant species are used for treating wounds, dysentery, skin boils, infections, and menstrual and sexual disorders by the local inhabitants (Sharma et al. 2018). So, rhizome is key material of trade containing trillarin, which on hydrolysis yield diosgenin and used in preparation of steroidal and sex hormones (Chauhan 1999). The rhizomes of this plant species could serve as potential novel source of compounds effective for alleviating pain and inflammation (Rahman et al. 2016). T. govanianum has analgesic, anti-inflammatory activity, anticancer activity, antifungal activity, and antioxidant activity (Sharma 2017). It has also been reported that the powder of the plant is used as anthelmintic (Bhardwaj et al. 2013; Gairola et al. 2014; Lone et al. 2013). Globally, diosgenin is used as anticancer and antiaging agent, besides its use as precursor for the preparation of many steroidal drugs (Chaudhary et al. 2015). In folk medicine, T. govanianum rhizome is used to cure dysentery, backache, healing of wounds, inflammation, skin boils, menstrual and sexual disorders (Gairola et al. 2014; Rani et al. 2013; Mahmood et al. 2012; Sharma and Samant 2014). T. govanianum roots are used for external wounds and allergic skin reactions (Gyawali and Paudel 2017). The root decoction is used for sexual disorders, as emetic and astringent (Ijaz et al. 2019), impotency and tumors (Ahmed and Akhtar 2016), and as tonic and emetic (Ali et al. 2018).

The root is used as an alternative medicine and is antiseptic, antispasmodic, diuretic, emmenagogue (to promote menstruation), and ophthalmic. The roots, fresh or dry, may be boiled in milk and used for diarrhea and dysentery. The raw root is grated and applied as a poultice to the eye in order to reduce swelling, or on aching rheumatic joints. The leaves were boiled in lard and applied to ulcers as a poultice, and to prevent gangrene. An infusion of the root is used in the treatment of cramps and a common name for the plant, “birthroot,” originated from its use to promote menstruation. A decoction of the root bark can be used as drops in treating earache. The species is used to facilitate childbirth and to treat other female problems (Ur-Rahman et al. 2019).

Local Food Uses

Trillium govanianum: The young edible unfolding leaves are an excellent addition to salad tasting somewhat like sunflower seeds. The leaves can also be cooked as a pot herb.